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    An Unwilling Bride
    An Unwilling Bride
    An Unwilling Bride
    Audiobook12 hours

    An Unwilling Bride

    Written by Jo Beverley

    Narrated by Simon Prebble

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Jo Beverley is a New York Times best-selling author whose lush romances have earned her a place in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. An Unwilling Bride traces an unlikely match between two headstrong people. In order to keep his vast estates in the family, the Duke of Belcraven must find a suitable bride for Lucien de Vaux, his only heir. But the woman he chooses for Lucien has plans of her own. It will take more than simple romance to turn this arrangement into a fairy tale wedding.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 10, 2008
    ISBN9781436184205
    An Unwilling Bride
    Author

    Jo Beverley

    The NYT bestselling author of over thirty historical romance novels, all set in her native England in the medieval, Georgian, and Regency periods, Jo Beverley firmly believes that reading should be fun, and every book should leave the reader with a smile. You can find Jo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jo.beverley and at www.wordwenches.com where she blogs regularly.

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    Reviews for An Unwilling Bride

    4/5

    16 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      We start the second book in the “Company of Rogues” series with Beth Armitage - a woman who is content with her life as a school teacher - finding out that the life as she knows it will change. It seems that 20 years ago the current wife of the Duke of Belcraven had an affair with an old flame while her husband was away. The result was a son - a third son - Lord Arden. When his two other sons die tragically, the Duke finds himself in the position of having another man’s son as his heir. To add to the mix, it seems that the Duke, himself, also has an illegitimate child - a daughter - Beth Armitage - who he now will force to marry his remaining son, so that the “Belcraven blood line” will continue.This sets the scene for the development of the rocky relationship of “Lord Arden - a full blooded aristocratic male who is finding out for the first time that he is illegitimate and Beth Armitage - an early feminist with republican inclinations”! (as it is phrased on the book summary) As you can well imagine, this book in the series explores the area of women’s rights with Beth being a fiery follower of Mary Woolstencroft. An Unwilling Bride was the winner of: the RWA RITA award for Best Regency, the Golden Leaf Award for Best Historical and Romantic Times Best Regency Romance.I found this book in the series to be very enjoyable! I didn’t really like Lucien, Lord Arden. At one point he actually backhands Beth. He is a pretty unlikeable character for most of the book. Even in future books, he comes off as stiff and unlikeable. I like to think about him having the label of “No Fun Zone”! I felt a great deal of empathy for Beth. It seems that women in Regency England REALLY need woman’s rights! Although I am aware that this is a fictional book, it make me thankful for the rights that I have!That being said, experience tells me that a Jo Beverley novel is not a nice and easy read. I may not like Lucien or how he orders Beth around, but I can appreciate how Jo Beverley takes some very unlikeable characters and weaves an incredibly wonderful story around them. The Company of Rogues aspect adds a nice background to Lucien’s earlier years, provides a support system for him and also helps us understand him a bit better. Definitely a rewarding read!
    • 5/5
      An excellent sequel to the Rogues series. An unusual heroine and a fresh plot add a different slant to the traditional Regency. I kept this for a long time and then purchased the Kindle edition so definitely a favorite.
    • 5/5
      I think this is one of Jo Beverley's best books - maybe her best. It's a very daring book, for the genre, but not because Lucien is an alpha male with a potential for violence - that description would cover most romance heroes pretty well; certainly it's nothing unique.

      No, the reason why An Unwilling Bride is daring is because instead of just picking up the old cliche (alpha male, potential for violence) Beverley decides to put it on trial: what happens when the dreamy alpha male crosses the thin line that most romance authors so delicately avoid? What happens when the heroine is someone like Beth, who has strong feelings about her own independence and rights? Beth is very well contextualized, but she gives the readers the opportunity to ask the one big question that almost every book in this genre ought to pose us: how can you reconcile the desire to be free and respected with the desire for an alpha male?

      This is essentially what the book is about. Everybody - every mother, girlfriend, and companion - offers to protect Beth and punish Lucien for his transgressions. There is no 'tolerance' for violence and the sheer number of words devoted to the topic of Lucien's potential & actual violence should show that this is not a question of a 'wife beater' - although I think that it should be obvious that the alpha male hero and wife beating jerk are not totally apples and oranges.

      I think Beverley ends up arguing that the difference between the hero and the jerk isn't that one has the potential for violence and the other doesn't; rather, it's a matter of self-discipline, nobility of spirit, understanding of right and wrong. Lucien isn't perfect, but he understands those things, and that's why he's ultimately a hero.

      I don't think Beverley really dealt sufficiently with Beth and Lucien's feelings; this is probably the consequence of dealing so thoroughly with their beliefs. There's almost no steam, but the way that Beverley describes Beth and Lucien when they dance, or engage in a battle of the wits, is amazingly done and incredibly erotic.

      And, of course, the book is a lot of fun - plenty of other Rogues make apperances, it's excellently structured (I think Beverley sets up the quotation from the Rape of the Lock as the premise of the novel and its inclusion is really cleverly done), very smart, and Beth is a wonderful heroine - really smart and sweet.
    • 4/5
      Now this one I like. Beth's situation was - weird, but believable. And her reactions the same, as were Lucien's. Neat meeting the other Rogues - I do want to read the rest of the series. Some of the threads started here were completed in Rogue's Return, and some weren't - and some were finished here that started in the first book. I'll keep an eye out for them. Lord Deverill showed his colors very clearly in a half-page scene, and made all the rest reasonable action against him - actually, when he showed up again he seemed to be overacting. But that didn't stop them from dealing with him. Good story - this one had me crying early on, and laughing out loud near the end, at the meeting with the duke. Lordy! Enjoyed this very much and will definitely be looking for more.